Author(s): Anas abdulhack Ismael

Abstract: The study will examine the efficacy of judicial review of the legality of the administrative decisions in Iraq concerning security matters, by assessing the constitutional and legislative provisions that govern the judicial review, and examining the decisions made by the Supreme Administrative Court in 2019- 2024, as the highest judicial authority to regulate the legality of administrative decisions. The significance of this subject lies in the keys of the concepts of security, the legality and constitutional rights as the majority of the administrational issues that are concerned with security have started to reach the core of the popular freedoms under the pretext of security and the need of stability. Although the principle of legality and the right to litigate are acknowledged by the Iraqi Constitution, the reality of the judiciary shows that the Supreme Administrative Court is facing a lot of challenge not only in its interpretation of ambiguous texts, access to classified evidence, but also in a lack of mechanisms of binding its decisions. To avoid considering external comparisons, the research used a legal analytical method, i.e. analyzing the applicable texts of the constitutions and specific reading of the decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court, to maintain the specificity of the Iraqi case. According to the research findings, the Supreme Administrative Court has taken a progressive trend in its recent decisions to provide a better check on the executive power, refusing to embrace the concept of security immunity of administrative determinations, and inquiry into the importance of following the rationality, the right to counsel and the concept of proportionality. Nevertheless, this omission is practically confined until the development of effective implementation processes and a gap between the law and practice, which destroys the power of the judiciary and demeans the confidence of the citizens in the organs overseeing them. Considering these findings, the study would advocate legislative changes to the State Council Law, the creation of accurate legal definition of security decisions, the development of executive instrumentation to put the administration under obligation to enforce court decisions, as well as the development of the administrative judges capacity through specialized training programs, to have a good balance of security needs with the protection of rights and freedoms.

DOI: 10.22271/27899497.2025.v5.i2c.163

Pages: 201-213 | Views: 76 | Downloads: 37

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